When the iPhone was first released, there wasn't an App Store. During the announcement at WWDC 2007, Steve Jobs said that web apps would be the only development platform for the iPhone. The decision obviously didn't stick, with Apple announcing the App Store just a year later, but it started the idea of mobile-first web apps (that weren't basic WAP sites).

Steve Jobs telling developers to make web apps

Now, nearly ten years later, web apps have come a long way. Progressive Web Apps are becoming increasingly common, and can do much of what native apps can. So the question is - should Progressive Web Apps be allowed in the Play Store?

PWAs should work for every user, no matter what browser or platform they are using.

Before going further, allow me to recap what exactly Progressive Web Apps are. The 'Progressive' part means that PWAs should be able to handle some features being missing, if the user's browser doesn't support them. PWAs are also designed with offline functionality, HTTPS support, and responsive design in mind. The key feature that really sets PWAs apart from typical web apps is the "service worker." This is a web standard that allows web apps to run some tasks in the background, such as sending push notifications and syncing. Service workers are supported by every major browser too, except Safari.

So if PWAs can do much of what native apps can do, and the eventual goal is for them to be indistinguishable from native apps, why aren't they in the Play Store? Well, there are a few valid complaints.

One common problem with web apps is that they don't really feel like native apps. The animations are sometimes laggy, the UI doesn't look quite right, and you get the occasional white screen while all the web app's resources are loading. Improvements in browser performance, as well as newer web frameworks like Google's Polymer, are changing this.

One common problem with web apps is that they don't really feel like native apps.

Another possible problem with web apps in the Play Store is that it could invite more low-quality apps. The Play Store is already littered with them, and so is the Chrome Web Store. To mitigate this problem, Google could potentially limit submissions to web apps using HTTPS and/or Service Workers, so only ones with comparable functionality to native apps would be allowed. Google already does something like this for web apps that want to show install banners - they have to have a valid manifest file and service worker, be served over HTTPS, and be visited at least twice by the user.

There's one more final complaint that is worth mentioning - that web apps in place of native apps could be a result of lazy developers. I can definitely agree to that, to an extent. The only mobile app I've ever made from scratch was Planr, and it was written as a web app. I chose this partially because I hate writing in Java (thus the lazy part), but also because I wanted to make it fully cross-platform using the same codebase.

So with all those potential problems, why should PWAs be allowed in the Play Store? Easy installation, for one. If I'm a developer making a Solitare game, it's much easier to say "search for Corbin's Solitare in the Play Store" than "go to corbins-solitare-game.com, press the menu button in Chrome, and add it to the home screen." In addition, the Play Store could allow PWAs to be discovered more easily, especially if they would appear in search results.

The Twitter Lite web app.

If you want to see an example of a good PWA, check out Twitter Lite. You can access it at mobile.twitter.com, and not only does it look very much like the native Twitter app, it provides notifications too. It is designed to load extremely quick, works offline, and even has an extreme data saver mode. Try adding it to your home screen for the full experience.

So, with all that in mind - do you think Progressive Web Apps should be allowed in the Play Store? Should they be listed separate from native apps, or alongside them? Let us know in the comments below.

Comments

Definitely not. Web Apps zap way more resources than their native equivalents. Just look at Electron-based apps on desktop. Slack uses 10% of CPU doing absolutely nothing. If google cares about their user's battery life, they shouldn't even consider letting them on.

They still exist in that sort of limbo between full native experiences and web pages. They can still look the part, and I have seen tons of great PWAs on the web, but they shouldn't be put alongside true native apps.

Moshe Brevda

Perhaps giving PWA's a fighting chance to compete fully with native will actually encourage more native-like capabilities in a cross platform manner

Chris Wachtman

You do not want them. I do want them. If they were allowed, I could choose to use them, and you could choose not to use them.

destinyhud

u can still use them without having them in play store. u could choose to use them and we could avoid them if its not in play store because i have a feeling it feel like a regular app and would be difficult to differentiate unless google mark it

Yup, you can just use chrome's 'Add to homescreen' to make it act (almost) like a regular app. One of the biggest advantage of PWAs is how independent they are of the whole app store infrastructure. Adding them to the Play Store would just redirect users to some web page. Packaging them would just make PWAs less versatile.

Packaging PWAs actually would grant them MORE versatility. Look at web apps that are being packaged up with Cordova or PhoneGap, they can request a plethora of permissions beyond what a PWA could ask for. But the question being asked here isn't "Should the play store provide a mechanism through which developers can package up web apps and list them on the Play Store?", it's asking if they should be able to be listed on the Play Store in the first place. Why should the Play Store even simply redirect the user? Google could put in place the Intent call that instructs Chrome to install the listed URL as the installation process, making the whole process invisible to the user just as though they were installing a regular app.

Lars Jeppesen

Discoverability

Nick Coad

Unless they also add a way to remove PWAs from searches then your point doesn't really hold up. But if they did add them, and they did include such a filter, you've got a point.

For some reason, every slack group you're in has to have a whole new instance of it open. So with my 4 chats, it chews up a stupid of CPU for some reason. I just uninstalled it, and switched to HipChat. Even VSCode has gotten better, i'm hitting like https://slack.engineering/reducing-slacks-memory-footprint-4480fec7e8eb . They fixed most of my issues, but by then I had already switched anyways. HipChat itself is based off electron.

Interesting. It does drive me crazy that when using Slack in-browser I have to open a new tab for each team that I'm on. Of course this all points to essentially "bad code" on Slack's part and shouldn't be reflective of web apps on the whole. Other apps like Discord do a great job of handling all my rooms in one tab while using in-browser.

Moshe Brevda

1000 times yes. By expanding the supported run time languages on Android, Google could expose the platform to lots of new developers, and not just "lazy". Forcing aspiring developers to learn java is just silly, and as pointed out, doesn't help stem the low app quality issues. Javascripts ubiquity makes it the perfect language for mobile development, across all platforms and mediums.

ddevito

How do you feel about wrapper apps?

Randroid

To add to this, I think many of the low quality apps are BECAUSE developers have to learn Java. If you already know another language well, and how to do cool things with it, working with another language that you don't know as well may very well effect the quality of your code and therefore effect the quality of your app. That's not to say that ALL low quality apps are due to a developer learning a new language, but it could be a factor in some of them.

abqnm

Agreed.

The biggest reason to put them in the play store is how they are installed otherwise.

You must currently have "unknown sources" enabled to install PWAs. This leaves the average user open to additional threats.

They either need to be in the Play Store, or at the very least, allow them to be installed without needing unknown sources enabled. Force it through Play Services like Instant Apps.

Android O will probably change this regardless. Unknown sources is going away - you'll be able to toggle a permission for Chrome to be allowed to install apps. So you won't have to have open up yourself elsewhere - should just be able to set it and forget it for Chrome specifically.

Nick Coad

No one is being forced to do anything. You can develop apps in many languages and have them transpiled to Java for you, C# being an obvious example with tools like Xamarin. If you want to make a web app, make a web app and people can still use it on their phone, but don't clutter up the Play Store with that stuff, it's hard enough browsing through all the cruft as it is.

destinyhud

i dont think they should let dev add pwa in play store. they should make this available in web store and deprecate chromeos app platform

It's kinda funny (and a bit sad) how Safari is basically the new Internet Explorer, when it comes to standards support.

Moshe Brevda

Although the new TP's aren't all that bad. But yeah with Chromes obliquity, Safari seems a bit supliferous, and Apple doesn't seem all that bothered by that fact!

sproc

All they care about is making it perform very fast...on benchmarks.

Nick Coad

It's not just Chrome's ubiquity (I think this is what you meant?) it's Safari's lack of adherence to standards and their slow uptake of new features. It's a real pain in the ass having to support iOS devices because of Safari.

Сергей Бугаев

Yet as every WWDC they say that "Safari is good with the standards"...

awebdeveloper

I disagree. They have taken a different route. Look at ES6 support they are at 100%

Nick Coad

They don't even have support for service workers, let alone the bizarre behaviours when handling clicks and scrolling etc in certain situations. It's a nightmare to develop for compared to Chrome and Firefox and even modern IE.

I'm a fan of the Twitter Lite PWA, and have been using solely for Twitter since it's launch. I'd wouldn't be surprised at all if Google creates a system for including them in the Play Store. You could still rate the app poorly if it sucks.

How do you handle multiple Twitter accounts w/ the PWA? I can't figure that part out. Otherwise I absolutely love Twitter Lite

blindexecutioner

I don't care either way as long as they are safe. If it runs like garbage I won't use it and will give a low rating, as would a lot of people, so the incentive to release a properly working app would still be there.

Ben A

agreed!

Chris Wachtman

I really want to be able to put PWAs in my app drawer. Currently I can only add them to my homescreen. If I only use an app occasionally (which is ideal for PWAs) then I dont want it on my homescreen. App drawer makes more sense.

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Ryan

you have to enable the improved add to home screen flag then true PWAs will 'install' and show up in your app drawer

The enhanced Add to Home Screen works, but it requires you to set a Chrome flag. Earlier this month I presented a proof-of-concept PWA grafted onto a Perl-based web site that took advantage of this brand new feature: https://stuff.coffeecode.net/2017/evergreen-progressive-web-app/#/6 leads into a series of screenshots showing it in action.

It's pretty cool, although the install action is a little bit delayed because Google reads the manifest and then generates just enough of an APK to integrate the launcher icon and register the Intent filters, so the first time a given PWA is added to a home screen, the APK needs to be generated before it gets shipped over to your phone. I assume it's cached after that and would be faster. But I'm sure we'll learn more about the behind-the-scenes at I/O in a few weeks :)

ddevito

Absolutely, the Store is just an avenue to find them. If they're good enough then it shouldn't matter what underlying technology they're built on. And besides a lot of Play Store apps are simple wrappers anyway.

ilovetesla

as the article said
devs must be able to publish only if the PWA has https support , this will surely​ filter out some shitty apps

I think it would be a great way to get even more developers on board so long as they had to jump through the same hoops as other developers. As it stands the only hurdle between myself and publishing a bunch of crappy apps is $25. If a PWA developer was willing to pay the same fee and "upload" their apps (perhaps via a ZIP file or pointing at a published URL), give it a description and some screenshots, I see no difference between them and another developer who takes the extra step to package their apps up using Cordova or PhoneGap. It would also improve visibility of the app to people who may only search in the Play Store for the apps they are looking for, and would provide additional systems to the developers like ratings and feedback.

PWA developers already pay for their own hosting and domain name and have to upload their code to their hosting provider. Most likely, they wouldn't upload to the Play Store. The store would just include a link that tells Chrome to add the webApk

Hence the "or pointing at a published URL". It would be simple enough to enter the URL of your app into a field, but to match the way apps are listed in the Play Store, you would need things like screenshots and descriptions.

Branko

No. Because that wouldn't be WEB APPS anymore, but apps controlled by Google. And Google shouldn't control the fucking WEB.

I don't have a problem with putting PWAs in the Play Store to help increase awareness, but they don't really need to. One of the strong points of PWAs is that users don't have to go through app stores for them.

The 'easy installation' example is misleading. You would rarely have to type a url. You would find the app on Twitter, Facebook, Google, etc. Installation would be even easier than a native app.
PWA
1. learn about app online.
2. tap link. Boom. You're in the app. Resources are cached behind the scenes.
3. If you know about it and care, you can tap the menu, then add to homescreen. Or you visit the site a few more times and Chrome asks you if you want to add it.

PWAs don't need to be in the Play Store to be searchable. They're on the internet, and indexable. They can be searched with Google. In my experience, the Play Store has horrendous search, so I'd prefer to find apps via Google Search. Additionally, to use search on the Play Store, you have to have something in mind to search for. If you do, great. But as explained above, PWAs are discoverable via sharing, so you naturally find out about quality apps

mx3

I don't get the question, they're already allowed. Bundle your PWA in a webview, and you have what you're talking about.

Moshe Brevda

By wrapping in a WebView, you lose access to many web-native API's, which instead need to be handled by the wrapping WebView (such as notifications), which kinda misses the point

There's certainly a difference between PWAs and packaged web apps, permissions being a big one. A PWA has to request permission for things like location or push notifications, while a packaged app could target an older API and blanket all the permissions they want and never have to ask for a thing.

Diego S.

Only web pages should be improved with better performances and functions and use "Add to the homescreen" from browser and ready! there will more storage for other things (games, photos, files, documents...)

Macfeast

God, no. Play Store is already filled with shit apps that are essentially iOS ports made in an afternoon. I have yet to ever see a web app that doesn't suck massively. They are all ugly lagfests with shit experiences. No, no, no, please god no.

Randroid

Did you even read the article? Did you visit the link that was provided of a perfectly usable, functional, and not crappy web version of the Twitter app?

saf1927

I tried that link, and while it's definitely better than just mobile sites, there is a noticeable lag when scrolling, content loading is not uniform and overall it seems like an inferior experience to the actual Twitter app on the Play Store.

Randroid

I tried that link as well, and noticed an app that loads quicker than the native app, scrolls quicker than the native app, and is better in every way than the native app that I've had installed. My only complaint is that the back button doesn't work the same as a native app, but instead it works more like a browser's back button

Nick Coad

Uh the poster you're replying to didn't deny that good apps exist, just that they are well outnumbered by lazy and poorly tested/supported ports.

Randroid

"the poster you're replying to didn't deny that good apps exist"

Actually he did. He said:
"I have yet to ever see a web app that doesn't suck massively."

Macfeast

I stand by that statement. The Twitter PWA is about as good as it gets, yet it still has noticeably slower scrolling, no swipe gestures, no animations, no logical back button behavior, etc, etc, etc, when compared to the native app. It doesn't suck massively, it just kind of sucks. It's not because of Twitter - their developers are great - but because the limitations of the mobile web.

Randroid

I disagree with most of this, as I already mentioned in another comment. All of the performance is actually better than the native app, the only thing I don't like is that the back button behavior is not logical, as you mentioned.

Macfeast

Yes, I read it. Twitter is a horrible example, because their clients are so fluid, well-designed and worked-through. It is perfectly *possible* to make good quality apps, yet 90% are complete garbage. Have you ever used a Cordova mobile app that didn't completely suck? Inviting these half-baked crapps to the Play Store is just begging for a swarm of low-quality experiences.

Ben A

Windows Phones and Windows have also been enjoying progressive web apps for years! :D Should be on Android! They run well and they feel native, nearly 99% of users can't spot the difference. Google should make it easier for smaller new devs as a start.

Randroid

Windows Phones? What's that? /s

Ben A

It's an operating system, look it up and look at them at retail! Maybe to you its non-existent to USA. It's exist in Europe! Today, there is no such thing as "Windows Phones" in 2017, they are simply Windows 10 devices.

Randroid

Apparently you missed the "/s" at the end of that comment, which means that it was sarcasm.

I know what it is, but even Microsoft pretends that it doesn't exist these days. They've completely given up on the platform.

Ben A

Yeah I know lol. Microsoft given up, I haven't yet...

Grey

Google needs to address what direction it is moving in. On one hand, the Chrome team is trying to mean Apps and Website seamless. On the other hand, the Instant Apps team is trying to make Apps seamless with Android, but in a totally different, Android-specific direction.

And this is why Google has as many issues as it does. Literally, the Chrome team shows off the Amazon Website being as good as the App, and the Instant Apps team shows off the Amazon App downloading and working instantly and seamlessly. At the same presentation.

Just

No. They are horrible. Twitter is horrible even as a native app and this web version is ever worse.

Lars Jeppesen

I know and have seen a badly performing native app. Therefore, by your logic, all native apps are bad

Just

Yes. Ideally, I would allow less native apps in play store. :)

Lars Jeppesen

Haha touché

Audio

I think they should, if for no other reason than getting an icon in the app drawer. As is, a PWA icon, twitter lite icon for instance, can be placed on the homescreen, not in the app drawer.

boop

That's already been fixed. PWAs 'install' just like regular apps and go into the app drawer now. Maybe it's just not hit stable yet.

Bewear

I suppose yes, for the sake of progress, but I still wish for people to make their apps in native code so they run better...

Samik Parekh

Only if they have separate section for Web App in Play store.
I don't want to install Web App if same regular App available.

armshouse

I think they should be in the play store BUT should be clearly identified as webapps

Fellwalker

How much will be on the device and how much will require live web access? That will need to be made clear. I've many apps that work perfectly without any connection - they would be useless to me if it was required. On the other side I've also several web sites, or mobile versions thereof, saved as favourites or as home page links. In some cases they are better than that company's app!

Anything that forces more use of https is a good thing. Far too many Logins are still insecure.

Hopefully PWAs can advance to the point they can have defaults set for them. I believe an app store isn't necessarily needed, but is great use when using the Google Play Store as a package manager. I prefer to see all my installed apps through the Play Store, and install whatever ones I no longer need instead of wasting my time going through Settings.

Lars Jeppesen

Discoverability

DragoCubed

No poll option? Well I think that PWAs with service workers and https should be on the play store.

Randroid

They usually do polls on weekends. Maybe that will be this weeks poll.

Nicholas Conrad

Absolutely not. They're web apps not running on the Android runtime. If you want them in your app drawer side-load them like a big boy. Nothing is more frustrating than installing a Chrome 'app' only to find out it's nothing but a dedicated window for their dumb website. I mean really, what is this, 1998? We have tabs now for a reason. We don't need to replicate that crummy experience across all of Android.

No. Getting things from the Web is the best possible way to do it. I hate app stores.

Joris Griffioen

Yes, *if* they reach a certain standard. You can implement PWA features up to any point, I think Google aught to make sure that the quality of the experience is at least on par. Perhaps even add a review process a la app store.

YuCMi

No, because as we know, Google is too lazy to review each app and has no standards for quality. Allowing PWA's would flood the store with garbage.

What we need is a promotion and search portal separate from the Play Store. Then again, that would basically be Google Search. So, perhaps Google can mark PWA's clearly in Google Search and rank them higher. To supplement Google Search, they can add a sort of main page for PWA's where your 'installed' and favorite PWA's are for quick access on different devices.

Madis

I think they should not be on Play Store, but instead the Chrome Web Store, to replace the current web apps. Why not bring CWS to mobile?

garywzh

Since PWAs can update itself without any restriction, why native apps are not allowed to do that?

Kino Seed

Frankly, I don't see a difference from a regular app. Ex: https://kinoseed.com/
At first I thought "hey... finally a cross browser development", but then "webkit" happened, and it's not just "safari"... as Apple insists on other browsers using their "webkit", that means I even had problems with Chrome on iOS. Did not have any problems with Linux, Windows, or Android - Chrome, Firefox, Vivaldi, Opera.... all worked. Just the damn rotten Apple didn't.
I took some digging into the limitations of iOS, but after some necessary inefficiency, most of it is working.